Two arrested in alleged gang rape

YREKA – Two Weed men have been arrested on suspicion of gang-raping an intoxicated 18-year-old woman in 2007, a spokesman for the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said today.

Johnson Sivongsa, 21, and Jeffrey Omega Williams, also 21, were both arrested on Friday and were arraigned Monday in Siskiyou County Superior Court.

They are being held in Siskiyou County jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Johnson is charged with rape in concert with force or violence, oral copulation in concert with force or violence and false imprisonment, according to electronic Superior Court records.

Williams is charged with identical crimes, but he's also charged with rape of a drugged victim and rape by force or fear, the electronic records show.

Capt. Jim Betts of the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office said today that the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected.

Betts, who was hesitant about releasing too many details because more arrests are expected, said the woman was raped at a party held outside the Weed city limits on Oct. 13, 2007.

He declined to say how many people might have been involved.

Superior Court records show, however, that arrest warrants were issued last month for at least two other men.

The alleged rape was reported after it occurred in 2007, but Betts said the investigation has taken a long time as investigators tracked down the alleged suspects, awaited laboratory testing results and were requested to provide additional follow-up information by the Siskiyou County District Attorney's Office.